Chapter 1654: The mystery of the released soul

The girl flew down from the city wall and landed next to Gu Qing Shan.

She smiled: 『 What an interesting style of combat, it seems we won’t have to head into the other points in history 』

In the sky.

The three skeletons were moving in circles around the giant monsters.

—–they were flying through the night sky.

There were four swords floating behind each of the skeletons, closely following them and attacking the giant monsters following their will.

Gu Qing Shan had four swords.

So the skeletons also had four swords——-

The only difference was that their swords didn’t possess the power of Divine Artifacts.

Watching the battle in the sky, Gu Qing Shan asked: “Don’t we need to change history?”

The girl replied: 『 We do not have the power to play around with history, not to mention, changing history can easily cause other problems 』

Gu Qing Shan thought briefly and agreed.

——the power of [Distortion] is unique, it wouldn’t be common no matter what kind of world we’re in, and even those Apocalypses felt that it was something difficult to deal with.

If we aren’t here to change history, what are we here for?

While Gu Qing Shan was thinking this, the girl had spoken up again:

『 As I had said before, shortly after this, for the very first time in history, the first Holy Relic would be destroyed, in other words——- 』

Gu Qing Shan followed up: “All the Holy Relics are currently intact”

The girl confirmed: 『 Indeed, we are merely going to obtain these Holy Relics’ recognition before they are destroyed——– as soon as even one of the Holy Relic recognize you, we would be able to immediately return to the future 』

Gu Qing Shan said: “I have a question, has anyone awoken Realm Force during this era?”

『 If such a person existed, the city would not have been enveloped in darkness 』the girl replied.

Gu Qing Shan nodded in an understanding manner.

The girl confirmed the shade of the sky and said: 『 The time of the first Holy Relic’s destruction is about to come, we need to hurry up and make our way there 』

“Alright”

Gu Qing Shan replied.

He raised his hand and suddenly clenched his fist.

The sorrowful and ancient music once again drifted throughout the night sky.

In the void of space.

Skeletons emerged one after another.

They descended from above and landed behind Gu Qing Shan, neatly lining themselves into a formation.

“Forward”

Gu Qing Shan clapped his hands.

The skeletons roared a unified roar, then flew past both Gu Qing Shan and the girl, rapidly charging forward.

Each of the skeletons was holding a heavy black tube-shaped object in their hands.

『 What is that? 』the girl suddenly asked.

“A type of antique machine gun, a Technological product” Gu Qing Shan replied.

As soon as he said that, the night sky was illuminated.

Tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak!

A huge number of bursts of flames descended from the sky, sweeping across the ground below like a waterfall of flames that tore the battlefield apart.

The skeletons continued to fly forward maintaining their formation.

The original three skeletons who were fighting against the giant monsters had also stopped moving and retrieved the long artillery tubes from their backs, aiming at the direction with the most number of monsters.

——-boom!

Deafening explosions resounded all over the city, drawing the monsters’ attention.

The girl frowned: 『 If this continues, we would be held up here 』

“We’re not the side that is being held up, the monsters are”

After saying that, Gu Qing Shan sheathed his swords and told the girl:

“Alright, let them fight, we’re going into the monastery directly”

『 How do we do that? 』the girl asked.

“Give me your hand”

The girl then held his hand.

A mass of white fog manifested and swirled around the two of them.

They then swiftly vanished.

...

At another location.

The monastery.

The same secluded corner from before.

A mass of white fog manifested.

The two of them appeared.

The girl looked around and said: 『 We came here at just the right moment, if we made it in time, the Holy Relics shouldn’t have been separated yet 』

“Separated? Were the Holy Relics originally left in the same place?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

『 Indeed. Because it was impossible to win against those monsters, in order to preserve the Holy Relics, the Pope had ordered for them to be separated and kept in different locations 』the girl explained.

At this point, the sound of uneven footsteps could be heard from outside, followed by someone’s shout: “Who’s there? Human or monster?”

“Captain, it’s probably not one of us”

The sound of weapons being unsheathed could be heard.

“All guards stay prepared, we’re going to check the situation!”

“Yes sir!”

The sound of footsteps became increasingly closer.

A layer of holy light suddenly radiated from the girl’s body to illuminate Gu Qing Shan’s body as well as hers.

『 This is our home field, so I can ensure that we’re completely undetected by our allies 』 the girl explained.

“That’ll save us a lot of trouble” Gu Qing Shan shrugged.

A group of fully-armored knights appeared at the end of the path.

As they approached this location, they looked around in confusion.

——there was nothing here.

“Come! Let’s go reinforce the team at the main gate” the knight captain ordered.

They had left.

“Alright, where are the Holy Relics?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

『 The main cathedral 』the girl replied.

The two of them exchanged glances before heading towards the cathedral.

The cathedral was currently brightly lit.

The twelve Bishops, four Cardinals, and the Pope were all gathered here.

Gu Qing Shan and the girl walked past these people, heading behind them and looked towards the four Holy Relics being worshipped on the table.

A pure-white fabric crown adorned with gems.

An ancient ceremonial shroud.

A grain beater with some blood on it.

A golden apple.

As they stood in front of the Holy Relics, the girl started giving off a holy glow that enveloped the four Holy Relics.

She clearly sighed in relief and said: 『 Your combat prowess was quite considerable, it was so much beyond my expectations that we made it in time before any of the Holy Relics were moved away 』

“What do we do now?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

The girl turned to him and solemnly explained: 『 Whenever someone comes into contact with Realm Force for the very first time, they would only be able to awaken a single kind of Realm Force 』

『 At this point, the four Holy Relics have focused their attentions on you, they represent four different world spirits, which corresponds to four different kinds of Realm Forces 』

『 The Holy Crown represents the power of salvation; the ceremonial robe represents sacrifice; the grain beater would help you connect with the world and grant you the holy power to kill; and the golden apple would grant you a unique evasive power 』

『 At this moment, you will need to firmly state your mind in front of them 』

『 Because you can only awaken one kind of Realm Force, the four Holy Relics would discuss among themselves to choose one to resonate with you and open a path of cultivating a Realm Force unique to yourself 』

『 Let us begin! 』

Gu Qing Shan thought briefly and hesitantly said: “I want to become stronger and defeat the Apocalypse”

『 Just... that? 』the girl asked.

“Yes” Gu Qing Shan answered honestly.

A second later, something unexpected occurred——–

All four of the Holy Relics began to vibrate.

They all floated into the air and danced around Gu Qing Shan’s body.

The girl was stunned.

She muttered in shock: 『 That is impossible... no matter who they are, an individual can only open one path of Realm Force cultivation the first time they come into contact with a world’s Holy Relic. What exactly are you—— 』

While saying that, signs of caution were evident in her expression.

Gu Qing Shan understood that it wasn’t a good thing.

If the other party doesn’t trust me anymore, the ritual would be interrupted, and I wouldn’t be able to gain any Realm Force.

“You can tell whether or not a person was lying. Come here, please put your hand on my chest again, I can tell you my conjecture” he sincerely told her.

The girl then placed her hand over his heart.

“I have never come into contact with Realm Force before” Gu Qing Shan said.

The girl nodded.

“I suspect—— the reason that this had occurred was that my soul is in a released state, capable of practicing any kind of power” Gu Qing Shan continued.

The girl nodded again but then shook her head: 『 What you said was the truth, but a released soul only exists in legends. Mortals cannot possibly release their souls on their own, so how did you do it? 』

Her eyes had returned to normal.

——it seems this man in front of me had indeed received some sort of unique opportunity.

This was relatively normal.

To continuously survive and live to the point where they are qualified to awaken Realm Force, which Combatant wouldn’t have obtained one or two unique opportunities?

Seeing how she had regained her trust, Gu Qing Shan smiled and replied: “During a certain battle, I awoke a vision left by the God who created that world, it was that God who released my soul”

Originally, this would have been the end of it.

The girl didn’t want to ask any further, but her lips twitched as she finally continued:

『 That isn’t correct 』

“Hm? What do you mean it isn’t correct?” Gu Qing Shan asked in surprise.

『 Gods are simply beings manifested from Laws. They might have a superior beginning compared to other living beings, but they would still be unable to grant a mortal the ability to practice four different realm Forces—— in other words, your soul being released was true, but it wasn’t a God who bestowed you a released soul 』the girl solemnly explained.

Gu Qing Shan’s expression suddenly changed.

—–Not a God?

Then what kind of entity actually released my soul?

Noticing his emotions, the girl continued: 『 Rather than thinking about that entity who masqueraded as a God, you should be thinking about something else 』

“What’s that?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

The girl looked at him with a questioning gaze and muttered: 『 A released soul is no small matter, so then, who exactly are you? 』

Having been asked such a difficult question, Gu Qing Shan really didn’t know how to answer this.

He stood there like a man standing on a deserted island.

It was as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him.

——-who knew something like this would happen?

I originally came here just to learn Realm Force, but I instead discovered a question.

A question that practically couldn’t be answered.

The girl had continued to keep her hand over his heart and only pulled back now while nodding her head.

『 I trust that you are honest—— you do not know your own background or anything else at all, so the current situation wasn’t a result of wicked thoughts from you 』

The girl’s voice turned gentle and continued: 『 As your companion, I can only remind you to think about this as carefully as possible——– before or after your soul became released, did you encounter something eerie or strange? 』

Gu Qing Shan stayed silent.

Something strange or eerie.

That’s right.

I had gone to meet the giant corpse.

After that... a monster who knew my name that not even the giant corpse could deal with appeared——-

Following Gu Qing Shan’s remembrance, the scene at that time resurfaced in his mind.

——–that monster.

When its head rolled on the ground, it gave me an inexplicable look.

It said:

“Pitiful...”

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